Perseverance Rover – My WordPress Site

This image was acquired on April 3, 2026 (Sol 1820) at the local mean solar time of 11:29:28. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Astrobiology Droid Perseverance At Work On Mars

by Keith CowingApril 12, 2026April 12, 2026

This photo was selected by public vote and featured as “Image of the Week” for Week 268 (March 29 – April 4, 2026) of the Perseverance rover mission on Mars.

Image of Coffee_Cove (Sol 1466) with the locations and fields of view for the luminescence analyses (a). Comparison of the luminescence spectra taken on Hampden_River and Coffee_Cove compared to lab spectra collected on a pure ruby, ruby in an amphibolite rock, and diaspore -- LPSC

Analog Studies, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Mars, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors

SuperCam Identifies Corundum In Jezero Crater, Mars, Using Time-Resolved Luminescence Spectroscopy

by Keith CowingApril 2, 2026April 2, 2026

a, We levitate a 500-μm silica sphere in an acoustic trap above a silica target plate. b, Charge is measured by applying a frequency-swept electric field, E(t), and extracting the trajectory of the sphere, y(t), using a high-speed camera. The amplitude and phase of y(t) at resonance depend, respectively, on the magnitude and sign of the particle’s charge, Q. c, Timed interruptions of the acoustic field trigger charge-exchanging collisions between the sphere and the plate, in which the sphere falls, bounces off the plate and is then ‘caught’ again. d, The entire system can be discharged using an X-ray photoionizer. e, Every sphere charges with a systematic sign and magnitude against its partner plate, but the slopes for an ensemble of sphere/plate pairs are spread randomly about zero. -- Institute of Science and Technology Austria

Astrochemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life

Colliding Dust And The Sparks Of Creation

by Keith CowingMarch 19, 2026

the NASA Mars Perseverance Rover by CircuitMess

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Citizen Science / Open Science, Education and Outreach, Exploration Gear & Tech, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors

Build Your Own Mars Astrobiology Rover

by Keith CowingMarch 16, 2026March 16, 2026

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU larger image

Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Mars Image Of The Week 262

by Keith CowingFebruary 28, 2026

There is no GPS at the Red Planet, but a new technology called Mars Global Localization lets Perseverance determine precisely where it is — without human help.

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors

Perseverance Mars Rover Now Autonomously Pinpoints Its Location Using Generative AI

by Keith CowingFebruary 18, 2026February 18, 2026

This annotated orbital image depicts the AI-planned (depicted in magenta) and actual (orange) routes the Perseverance Mars rover took during its Dec. 10, 2025, drive at Jezero Crater. The drive was the second of two demonstrations showing that generative AI could be incorporated into rover route planning. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UofA

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Desert Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Mars, Missions & Hardware, People Of Astrobiology, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

Perseverance Rover Completes First AI-Planned Drive on Mars

by Keith CowingJanuary 31, 2026January 31, 2026

3D rendering of meteorite and clasts. a) 3D rendering of the attenuation tomograms cut in half in z to show two H-Fe-ox clasts, showing neutron attenuation on the left and X-ray attenuation on the right. White means high attenuation, dark means low attenuation. b) 3D rendering of segmented phases throughout the meteorite, with H-rich Fe-oxyhydroxides in blue and H-poor Fe-Ti oxides in red. c) 3D rendering of the three biggest H-Fe-ox clasts. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Direct Detection Of Hydrogen Reveals A New Macroscopic Crustal Water Reservoir On Early Mars

by Keith CowingJanuary 15, 2026January 15, 2026

Michael Thelen of JPL’s Exploration Systems Office discusses the newly inaugurated Rover Operations Center in JPL’s historic Space Flight Operations Facility on Dec. 10. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Artemis & Lunar Exploration, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

NASA JPL Unveils Rover Operations Center For Future Missions

by Keith CowingJanuary 3, 2026January 3, 2026

This image from a map of Jezero Crater shows the area NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is currently exploring, including Belva Crater, just below the center of the image. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/USGS-Flagstaff/JHU-APL -- NASA Larger image

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Radiation, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

Recent Production Rates Of Cosmogenic Nuclides In The Igneous Rocks of Jezero Crater Floor, Mars

by Keith CowingJanuary 2, 2026January 2, 2026